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Retired doctors, nurses, medical students in UK join Covid-19 fight
The ExCel Centre in east London, spread over 100 acres, is being converted into a hospital for 4,000 patients.
Thousands of retired doctors and nurses have returned ‘to the frontline’ to deal with the coronavirus challenge, besides nearly 19,000 final year medical students, as the UK grapples with staff and equipment shortage and spike in deaths and new cases.
The ExCel Centre in east London, spread over 100 acres, is being converted into a hospital for 4,000 patients. A call for volunteers to perform non-medical tasks in the National Health Service (NHS) was immediately responded to by over 170,000 people within 24 hours.
Stephen Powis of NHS England described the response as “outbreaks of altruism,” adding that he is “bowled over” by medical professionals returning ‘to the frontline’ of treatment of the virus that has claimed at least 422 lives in the UK.
The Boris Johnson government intends to recruit 250,000 volunteers, who must be over 18 and in good health. They will help 1.5 million people with underlying health conditions who have been asked to shield themselves from the virus by staying at home for 12 weeks.
However, reports suggest that the massive NHS recruitment drive risks being undermined by the prospect of doctors quitting over fears of inadequate protective equipment. The British military is helping reach such equipment to hospitals across the UK.
Rinesh Parmar, chair of the Doctors’ Association UK, told The Guardian: “The longer this epidemic goes on for, if doctors feel that there is a widespread lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), then some doctors may feel they have no choice but to give up the profession they love, because they feel so abandoned by not being given the PPE that the World Health Organization recommends”.
“That’s the travesty of this situation, that the government needs to protect frontline health workers and in return they will give 100%. But the government hasn’t kept its side of the bargain with NHS staff by not having enough PPE available to safeguard the health of doctors and nurses,” he said.
The Royal College of Nursing, also reflected the concerns of nurses who may be forced to choose between jobs and safety.
A spokesperson said: “Our priority is to make sure nursing staff in frontline care have the masks and equipment they need but the government and NHS must be able to offer reasonable protection and assurances to those who lend a hand in these times”.
“Nursing staff should never be forced to choose between their safety and their livelihood - this equipment must desperately reach the frontline”.
